Hillsdale College Holds Fall Convocation
Christopher Matsos, chairman and associate professor of theatre, spoke on remembrance and stewardship.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College hosted its annual Fall Convocation in Christ Chapel on Nov. 13. The traditional academic ceremony included remarks from College President Larry P. Arnn and an address by Christopher Matsos, chairman and associate professor of theatre, as well as recognitions of academic and teaching excellence.
Matsos, whom the class of 2025 voted professor of the year, spoke on remembrance and stewardship. His address was titled “The Labor of Remembrance: Stewardship in Loss and Learning.” He told the story of John Heminges and Henry Condell, actors who preserved many of William Shakespeare’s plays after his death.
“Stewardship is the life story of this college.”
“Their book, which we call Shakespeare’s First Folio, is a monument of lasting importance in the history of dramatic literature and the modern development of the English language itself,” Matsos said. “It did not make them wealthy, but it was an act of stewardship that helped shape the modern world.”
Matsos recently directed Lauren Gunderson’s play “The Book of Will” at Hillsdale. The play tells the story of Heminges and Condell, whom Matsos held up as models of the College’s mission.
“We carry the legacies of the people, the ideas and the values we believe in because someone must, even though it’s so hard, and indeed because it is hard, like Heminges and Condell,” Matsos said. “Stewardship is the life story of this college. In a delirious ever-changing world that worships convenience, dismantles truth, and distorts the very idea of liberty, in a time when our minds are battered incessantly with trivia, we answer the call to steward the greatest things to distant places and into a hopeful future.”
Dr. Arnn presented the fall 2025 Emily Daugherty Award for Teaching Excellence to Stephanie Lauback, assistant professor of physics. Lauback earned her B.S. in physics from Ohio Northern University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from The Ohio State University. Before joining Hillsdale’s faculty in 2020, Lauback taught physics at Juniata College.
Hillsdale College Provost Christopher VanOrman announced spring 2025 academic performance statistics and awards. Kappa Kappa Gamma won the Sorority Scholarship Cup with a GPA of 3.569, and Alpha Tau Omega won the Fraternity Scholarship Cup with a GPA of 3.432. The all-women’s GPA was 3.565, and the all-men’s GPA was 3.396. The all-school GPA was 3.484.
For photos from Convocation, click here. For photos of Hillsdale College, click here. For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.